The United States did not put enough pressure on former Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani to share power with the Taliban, Zalmay Khalilzad, who recently resigned as US special envoy to Afghanistan, told CBS in an interview broadcast on Sunday.

The Afghan-born Khalilzad, speaking for the first time since his resignation on October 18, expressed reservations about the US decision to lift conditions on the withdrawal deal he had negotiated with the Taliban during the Trump years.

The agreement signed on February 29, 2020 between Washington and the Taliban – which excluded Ghani’s government in Kabul – paved the way for the US to end its longest war. But it was “a conditions-based package” that included negotiations between the insurgents and Kabul, as well as a permanent ceasefire, Khalilzad said.

But once in the White House, US President Joe Biden decided “to do a calendar-based withdrawal” without regard to those conditions, he said.

Washington feared the Taliban would resume attacks on US forces if they stayed in the country longer – a situation Khalilzad acknowledged.

Khalilzad placed most of the blame on Ghani, who he said never agreed to share power with the Taliban. “They preferred the status quo to a political settlement,” he said of Ghani’s government.

“They (Ghani’s government) were not serious about the political settlement. It’s my judgement that we didn’t press him (Ghani) hard enough. We were gentle with President Ghani. We used diplomacy. We encouraged him.”

Iran to host meeting on Af, Taliban not invited

Iran will host a regional meeting on Afghanistan on Wednesday – but without the participation of the Taliban regime, which hasn’t been invited to the talks, reported Tolo News.

“We are aware that the meeting will be held. The meeting relates to neighbours, and we are not invited,” said Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid.TT